The purpose of the 3" magnum auto-5

Discussion in 'Browning Auto A-5' started by Biz, Sep 27, 2020.

  1. Biz

    Biz 20g

    2B1E389A-509D-4F0B-854F-E6B877977D30.jpeg
    win7stw likes this.
  2. Ranger6

    Ranger6 Administrator Staff Member Administrator Global Moderator Forum Moderator

    Very nice sir, looks like a perfect day. Super jealous
  3. Rudolph31

    Rudolph31 .30-06

    Are you shooting steel, Biz?
  4. win7stw

    win7stw .30-06

    Good shooting Marc. Those sky carp are fun to shoot
  5. Biz

    Biz 20g

    Steel shot has been mandatory for at least 20 years in Canada. This magnum on the pic is equipped with a 32" barrel. It was a full choke that was opened to a modified choke by my gunsmith. The 32" barrel give me a nice long range. I reload my shell with blue dot 1-1/4 load. I trying to find a recipe for 1-1/2.
    Rudolph31 likes this.
  6. Ranger6

    Ranger6 Administrator Staff Member Administrator Global Moderator Forum Moderator

    Biz does the 1 1/4 load not work? Sure you could use it as a starting point for 1 1/2. Not that much more shot.
  7. win7stw

    win7stw .30-06

    What’s you favorite way to eat those?
  8. Biz

    Biz 20g

    The 1-1/4 load at 1450 work find but sometimes I feel, if I can keep the same speed, that that little extra load will give me an edge. What do you think? Today was pretty good we made our limit in 30 minutes. In fact, it was a bit to fast maybe!
  9. Biz

    Biz 20g

    I make rillettes with them and serve it with a nice IPA beer as an appetizer.
  10. win7stw

    win7stw .30-06

    Never had rillettes before. Sounds pretty good. I’d pass on the IPA
  11. Ranger6

    Ranger6 Administrator Staff Member Administrator Global Moderator Forum Moderator

    Yes I would say that’s to quick, but way better then all day and not seeing anything. As far as the load, have you patterned it? More shot, faster etc, don’t always mean a better pattern. It takes considerable time sometimes to find the correct combination that works the best. When I start a new load I always look at my wad first. In your case is your wad only 1 1/4 oz or does it cover 1 1/4 - 1 1/2? Then I look at the hull, hows the stack height? If your running tight at 1 1/4 then your gonna need different wad and/or hull. Blue dot is not a really hot powder so you should be able to play with it a little.
  12. Biz

    Biz 20g

    Thank you Ranger for your suggestions. Everything works perfectly when reloading the 1-1/4. I think they will be enough room into the 3" shell with the proper wad for a 1-1/2 load. May be there is no recipe for 1-1/2 steel shot load. Is they something better then blue dot?
  13. Ranger6

    Ranger6 Administrator Staff Member Administrator Global Moderator Forum Moderator

    Mostly I’ve used Alliant steel powder. I am waiting on some blue dot from my powder guy. I like it in 28 gauge, pressures are pretty low. Never loaded it with steel. If your happy with its performance I would try to come up with a load for it
  14. Biz

    Biz 20g

    Ranger,
    I would like to take advantage of your knowledge on gun powder. Some pretend that blue dot and IMR blue are interchangeable. Would you know?
    Thank
  15. win7stw

    win7stw .30-06

    Marc, I’d think it’s interchangeable. I’ve used IMR Green in place of Green Dot and I found it was a little more dense but performance was about the same. However I never chrono’ed the loads
  16. Biz

    Biz 20g

    Thank Justin,
    Sometimes we have a problem to source the blue dot.
  17. Ranger6

    Ranger6 Administrator Staff Member Administrator Global Moderator Forum Moderator

    First things first. You haven’t said what your shooting, 12, 16, 20 etc. Then are you shooting modern or old school hammer gun. Then what are you pushing, steel, lead, bismuth. What are your desired pressure and fps.? I would not say that any powder is interchangeable. Each powder has its own burn rate and characteristics. Blue dot is a slower burning powder then imr blue. Without specific pressure readings it’s really hard to tell. Just because it’s a slower burn rate don’t mean you can load more powder and get the same results. Usually the slower the burn rate the more pressure is required to get that perfect burn. Not all powder is suitable for all loads.
    Like my reference to Alliant Steel powder. That powder does not meter as well as other powders. When increasing shot size with steel pressure will go up. So if you load some 4’s it might be within Saami spec, load that same shell with 3’s and it will be over pressure. If your looking for a new powder then the best way is to look at some load data from a powder you want to use. Pressure is king here. You do not want to exceed the pressure for the given gauge. If you can’t find a load that you want then you will have to start on the low end of the pressure. Increase you powder .5 grains. Go pattern and inspect shells for over pressure. Now if your load for a12 gauge is already at 11,400 then you can’t add .5 grains it will put you over pressure.
    When I shoot a new load I always use one of my A5’s. One because the barrels are pretty much rock solid. The other is I grew up on a5 and still shoot one today, so I know what the recoil should feel like. The 3rd is if it cycles the old girl then I know pressure is at least 7500 psi. If the bolt comes back, but don’t cycle then your under.
  18. Biz

    Biz 20g

    Thank Ranger again, a lot of info to digest. I reload only for my 12 gauge auto-5, boring life eh! I will do my homework.
  19. Ranger6

    Ranger6 Administrator Staff Member Administrator Global Moderator Forum Moderator

    Part II
    If you have no load data from a good source there is another option. Is there a factory load that gets the job done, while meeting all your needs. If so you can cut one apart and weigh everything. Often you can identify the wad, shot size is easy with mic. The hard part is the powder. Most factory loads are a powder that you can’t buy, some may look the same but may not be. New loads are not hard to come up with if your patient, pattern them, and then send them out to be professional tested. A chronograph is a nice tool to have and will speed up the process.
    Remember if you have a load that is close to where you wanna be, but now the wad your using isn’t available, you find a substitute. Now you have to start all over with a safe powder charge.
    I know you wanted a simple answer, but there isn’t one if your making loads that hasn’t been tested. Now you could always call the powder company and see if they will help. Most times they will say follow load data that published, but every once in a while you will get someone that really knows their powder and will either tell you or give you a hint.
  20. Ranger6

    Ranger6 Administrator Staff Member Administrator Global Moderator Forum Moderator

    So with all that said, I would not be afraid to use either powder in a 12 gauge load. Stay around 9000-10,000 psi until you figure out where your at. By the way what are you looking to load? I may have something close.

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